Michel de Montaigne

“ There is no man living, whom it may lesse beseeme to speake of memorie, than myselfe, for to say truth, I have none at all: and am fully perswaded that no mans can be so weake and forgetfull as mine. All other parts are in me common and vile, but touching memorie, I thinke to carrie the prise from all other, that have it weakest, nay and to gaine the reputation of it, besides the naturall want I endure (for truely considering the necessitie of it, Plato hath reason to name it a great and mighty goddesse) . ”

“ When they disguise or change, if they be often put to the repetition of one thing, it is hard for them to keepe still in one path, and very strange if they lose not themselves: because the thing, as it is, having first taken up her stand in the memory, and there by the way of knowledge and witting, imprinted itselfe, it were hard it should not represent itselfe to the imagination, displacing and supplanting falshood, which therein can have no such footing, or setled fastnesse ”

“ It is not without reason, men say, that be who hath not a good and readie memorie should never meddle with telling of lies, and feare to become a liar. I am not ignorant how the Grammarians make a difference betweene speaking untrue and lying ”

“ I see all men generally busied (and that verie improperly) to punish certaine innocent errours in children which have neither impression nor consequence, and chastice and vex them for rash and fond actions. ”

“ But the King urging him with divers, objections and demands, and charging him on every side, prest him so farre with the execution done by night, and as it were by stealth, that the seely man, being much entangled and suddenly surprised, as if he would set an innocent face on the matter answered, that for the love and respect of his Majestie, the Duke his Master would have beene very loth that such an execution should have beene done by day. Heere every man may guesse whether he were taken short or no, having tripped before so goodly a nose, as was that of our King Francis the first. ”

“ For the circumstances to which they will subject their credit and conscience, being subject to many changes, their speech must likewise diversifie and change with them, whence it followeth that of one selfsame subject they speak diversly, as now yellow, now gray, to one man thus, and thus to another. ”

“ For as divers like examples of natures progresse, say, she hath happily strengthened other faculties in me, according as it hath growne weaker and weaker in me, and I should easily lay downe and wire-draw my minde and judgement, upon other mens traces, without exercising their proper forces, if by the benefit of memorie, forren inventions and strange opinions were present with me. ”

“ In my countrie, if a man will imply that one hath no sense, he will say, such a one hath no memorie: and when I complaine of mine, they reprove me, and will not beleeve me, as if I accused myselfe to be mad and senselesse. ”

“ The King to keepe ever some intelligence in Italy, whence he had lately beene expelled, but especially in the Dukedome of Millane, thought it expedient to entertaine a Gentleman of his about the Duke, in effect as his Ambassador, but in apparence as a private man ”

“ But they doe me wrong, for contrariwise it is commonly seene by experience, that excellent memories do rather accompany weake judgements. ”

“ Whilest they labour to finde the point to stop their course, they stagger and falter, as men that faint through weaknesse. Above all, old men are dangerous, who have onely the memorie of things past left them, and have lost the remembrance of their repetitions. I have heard some very pleasant reports become most irkesome and tedious in the mouth of a certaine Lord, forsomuch as all the bye-standers had many times beene cloyed with them. ”

“ An ancient father saith, 'We are better in the companie of a known dogge, than in a mans societie, whose speech is unknowne to us. Vt externus alieno non sit hominis vice: 'A stranger to a stranger is not like a man.' And how much is a false speech lesse sociable than silence? King Francis the first, vaunted himselfe to have by this meanes brought Francis Taverna, ambassador to Francis Sforza, Duke of Millane, to a non-plus ”